Guilt
by MCS35
Summary: Cliche setting where Gajeel walks Levy home and drowns himself in his own guilt. But Levy eventually saves him from despair! ( sounds more dramatic than it actually is though) So summary sucks and i just needed to get this out of my system. Plus there's romance if you squint really closely. P.S. So this is my first fanfic ever. Constructional criticism is appreciated.


The mages of Fairy Tail were not having a good day. Not at all. Yajima-san, Laxus, and the Raijinshu Tribe were all lying half-dead in the infirmary and news of the city's condition grew worse by the hour. A major blow was the fact that they had to lie to Freed, saying that the city was completely safe and Laxus was not suffering in vain. Even worse was he was crying tears of joy, believing the lie. They had just survived and barely recovered from the Dragon Festival and now they had this to deal with. It was no surprise when Natsu declared a war against Tartaros. And of course nobody would object. They had to avenge the injured guild members and the city. But now the stakes were higher, and casualties would be a definite. The guild members from Tartaros were all demons from Zeref himself. The fights they would have from now on would be intense and bloody. But they all had a reason to fight, right? All these thoughts were running through Gajeel's head as he walked towards the bar. He needed a drink, especially after all that. The whole guild, in fact, quieted down considerably. No bar fights ensued, no casual bickering, even Cana slowed down on her drinking. Natsu disappeared, as well as Lucy and Happy, no doubt consoling the guy. After his third mug of ale, Gajeel heard overheard a conversation from across the bar.

"Things are gonna get really serious soon aren't they Mirajane? The attack on the Council, the city…" asked Levy.

"Yeah. But we'll be alright. We've got pretty tough mages here too. Besides, I don't think Natsu would stop fighting even if he can be barely stand. He's quite the stubborn one."

"Hahaha! He's not the only one that's stubborn around here!".

"Really? Who else we talking 'bout here?". Gajeel moved over so he could sit next to Levy.

"Gajeel! Jeez. Stop eavesdropping!".

"Hmph. Not my fault you're so damn loud, Shorty.".

"And since when were you included in this conversation anyway?".

"The moment I started talking? Duh smartass.".

"Y-you! Arghh, I don't even have the energy to keep this up. Look, I'm gonna go home. I really need to get some rest. Mirajane! I'll be off!".

"Take care Levy!" Mirajane shouted as she was in the kitchen preparing someone's dinner.

"Oi, Shrimp! I'm coming with you.".

"You don't have to, you know? It's not that far a walk.".

"Yeah but with all this going on, you really shouldn't be walking alone. You know, safety in numbers." Gajeel's voice quieted down as he neared the end of his sentence. _Well this seems familiar, _Gajeel thought. Gajeel has come a long way ever since the Phantom Lord incident and he wasn't as shunned as he used to be. He had become a part of Fairy Tail and they had accepted him. Not immediately but when they did completely, it was like he never joined his previous guild, like he never killed or tortured anyone for the fun of it, like he never destroyed the guild and pinned Shadow Gear to the huge tree in the middle of the park. And he was, honestly and truly, grateful for that. For the first time since Metallicana left, he felt at home. He felt a kind of peace that had been deprived of him for so long. Of course, he wouldn't admit this anytime soon.

But all that didn't mean he didn't feel the guilt. He did anything he could to atone for his crimes. He became a double agent for Mavis' sake. He also nearly died a couple of times for the sake of the guild. Yet he still felt guilty. He still had nightmares about the things he did to Jet and Droy, and most of all, Levy. She was the one he had hit the most. Why? Because he was a freakin' jerk and sadist. Ironically though, she was one of the first to accept him, besides the Master. And he didn't understand it at all. She should be hating him with every fiber of her being. But noooo. He gets hurt and she's there in a jiffy. Asking him questions like 'What happened? Where does it hurt? Can't you be more careful next time?', it drove him mad and still does. She's just a big, lovable mass of confusion he can't grasp. He loves her so much it hurts but he can't do anything about it because she's so up there and he's down there wallowing in the dirt. Besides, what the heck was that?

He beats her up and them says he loves her? That's just crap. Levy, noticing his sudden shift in mood from solemn to slightly depressed, figured out what he was most probably thinking about. She inwardly sighed. She forgave him a long time ago. She could trust him with her life. In fact, she already did once or twice. And falling in love with him only made the process easier. But it seemed Gajeel couldn't let go of it yet. She tried to make him release those memories though, she really did. She'd take him to the library sometimes, go on missions, and they were always sitting next to each other at the guild.

"What can I do to make you let go?" Levy whispered. Gajeel, hearing that phrase, stopped and stared at Levy.

"Wha?" Getting bolder by the second, Levy went on,

"I'm pretty sure you heard me Gajeel." When Gajeel showed no sign of replying, Levy continued.

"What can I do to make you realize that whatever you did before is long forgotten and that the Gajeel who saves my life and the guild continuously is the only Gajeel I know? That I don't care about who you were before we met? Please don't pretend that you don't know where all this is coming from and answer me. I'm sick and tired of seeing guilt every single time I look at you in the eyes. Even when we're both laughing our butts off it's there. And its hurting me too." She paused for a moment as Gajeel's eyes widened.

"You've gotten so caught up in your guilt that you've forgotten that I'm still trying to move on too! But how can I do that when every time a subject similar to whatever happened before you start getting moody? Both of us can't do this alone. If we want to move on, it has to be done together. But right now that's not working now is it?" Gajeel was, at the very least, blown away. The little midget hit home so hard that for a second he had stopped breathing. He felt all these different emotions rushing towards him. So many that he wasn't even sure he could name them. But that little inspirational speech woke him up. I mean, if this didn't wake him up then he was a hopeless cause. For the first few seconds after she finished speaking, he had trouble getting his thoughts back together. But when he did though, the first thing he did was hug her. Frankly, he would have kissed her but he decided that it was a tad bit too early for that. Her speech wasn't a freakin' confession anyways. So he hugged her like he wouldn't let go of her, ever.

"G-Gajeel?".

"I'm only gonna say this once okay Shrimp?". Levy nodded, slightly taken aback from the sudden hug.

"I'm so, so sorry. I swear I'm gonna try harder at this, I really will. And please don't tell Salamander about me apologizing because I'm never gonna hear the end of it.".

"Don't think I'll be able to do anything when I'm still trapped here, you know.".

"You know what? That sounds pretty okay to me.".

"GAJEEL! LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!".

"No can do Shrimp." And with that, he scoops Levy up into his arms and starts walking towards Fairy Hills.

"But how am I supposed to sleep?!".

"Very snuggly in my arms."."G-Gajeel!" There would be no confessions that night. _Not yet._ Gajeel thought smugly as he leapt through the window of Levy's room and got on her bed.


End file.
